Enjoying each other

We had another great Hope Kids event this past Sunday. This is their biggest yearly shebang, and it was just as over-the-top as it was last year. Once a year they put on a festival at the stadium on the University of Minnesota campus, and have pretty much everything you can think of - bounce houses, laser tag, face painting, dunk tanks, petting zoo(s), pony rides, a climbing wall, tie-dying - you name it - all staffed by the different sports teams from the U. It's a super fun afternoon, and the pictures probably tell it better than anything I can say.

Here we are walking in. Leah's piggy backing Evania. Owen's pulling Gloria and Reuben in the wagon...while piggy-backing Rinnah (who really could walk just fine, but it's cool that her big brother is not only willing, but also able to heft them all along!) Krassimir is being pushed by Jessica, a high school age friend who gets pay for a few hours a week of helping us out. Grandma's along for the afternoon, and Matt's way back behind her by Big Blue with Mira. Bobbi was out for the day shopping with her cousin.

Pony rides were a big hit last year, and this year was no exception. Sadly, Reuben had no interest this  year. He's exhausted and spent most of the afternoon in the wagon or someone's lap, and had a few doozy seizures over the time we were there as well. BUT, we had two new riders this year: Gloria wanted to give it a try since all the big girls were, and Krassimir tried it, too!

Yay, Krassi!!

This was the one single thing that got Reuben to climb out of the wagon - the goat. He saw the goat (who tried to eat his Bible last year), climbed himself out, walked over, and immediately propped his Bible on the goat's back. That didn't last very long, but the gesture was so Reuben. The goat, however, wasn't so into being treated as an end table.

 

Leah and Rinnah aren't really all that into superheroes, but we knew Bobbi would appreciate this one.

Rinnah at the dunk tank (manned by the U of MN swim team). It wasn't until I looked at the photos that I noticed the game was rigged...on behalf of the thrower. It explains the momentary time lag between the throw and the dunk.

All four of these girls wanted to touch the snake! Evania was probably the most taken by it. (Aunt Sara would have been so proud!)

Killing time while Dad held their spot in the face-painting line. This simple booth was sponsored by the place that supplies all of Mira's miscellaneous medical items. The man working the table got a kick out of Evania's "game face."

These kids had a blast blowing bubbles for Krassimir.

Owen took advantage of being twelve years old, and mostly floated on his own. Here he is on the big climbing wall. He had to run back to the van to take off his jeans and change into shorts because he didn't make it on his first time up the wall because his legs wouldn't bend!

 The face painting line was long, but well worth it. Rinnah talked all the way home about how she wants to be a face painter for a job when she grows up.

My two kitties together.

Then it was down onto the playing field, which was ringed with more bounce houses and ball pits and various blow-up playthings than you've ever seen in one place before in your life (except for here last year).

Krassi loved getting bounced. "Breathe, Krassi, breathe!" He laughs SO HARD!

Walking back to Daddy and the wheelchair.

Here's Mira and Reuben hanging out with Daddy.

The cheerleaders were pretty taken with Gloria (and a few other babies). What started with just two sharing their poms with her turned into four...

 And then more...

 And then they started doing some fancy moves with her...

Which ended her up on video on the big screen overlooking the field!

Little girly knows what she wants. She was done with pom-poms, and looked at me and pointed across the field to the mini-jump where she'd been earlier with Leah, Rinnah, and Evania. So I walked her over, and she climbed herself right in like she owned the place.

 While I was over there with Gloria, Leah came running over to tell me Reuben was having a seizure. So I sprinted back across the field to where he was sitting with Jessica, and coached her through the rest of it. I think that's the first full seizure he's had with her when she's actually been the one guiding him through the whole thing beginning to end. Previously he's had a few partial seizures with her, and she's been at our house when he's had them, but we'd been the primary people "on" it. And it wasn't her last, either, as he had another on the ride home. She did a great job, though, staying calm through the whole thing, and doing just what we'd told her needed to be done.

 And here's Daddy with two of his little girls walking back toward us as the day was coming to a close. Perfect weather, lots of great memories. We really enjoy these days.